Titan to open 40-50 stores next year
Titan to open 40-50 stores next year
Titan Industries, one of the worlds largest watch manufacturer and one of India's leading producer of watches, has planned to introduce affordable models of the device under its other brands such as Sonata and Fastrack within the next couple of months.
It launched its first smartwatch Juxt in January, 2016.
As reported by PTI, that S Ravi Kant, CEO, Titan Watches and Accessories, said, "After the launch of Juxt, we ran out of stock, and we had to re-introduce it. Then we launched Juxt Pro and that is also doing very well. We are planning to launch quite a few smartwatches. Both (Juxt & Juxt Pro) are under the Titan brand but we will be seeing products coming out across our brands like Fastrack and Sonata."
He assured that the company will maintain smartwatch as its area of focus and assured that the new models will be in the range below Rs 10,000.
He also added, "Fastrack smartwatch will command a little premium over a basic Fastrack watch. Similarly, a Sonata smartwatch will be a little more expensive than a Sonata watch, because of the technology involved. Both will have to be sub-Rs 10,000, while these (Juxt and Juxt Pro) cost around Rs 19,000- 20,000 and Rs 22,000."
Titan commands over 50 per cent market share in the wrist watch industry, estimated at Rs 6,000 crore. The watch unit contributes fewer than 20 per cent to the company's turnover.
The leading watchmaker has over 600 outlets across its retail formats of World of Titan, Fastrack and Helios, and will be adding another 40-50 stores next year.
Kant said despite subdued sales for watches over the last few years, the category of expensive models in price range of above Rs 4,000-5,000 is growing faster than the other segments at 12-14 per cent.
On being asked about the impact of demonetisation on the business, Kant said, "We had an impact certainly, after the first week, immediately after November 8, in retail and across all channels. Now retail has more or less bounced back.
"We are seeing some impact on the trade cycle because dealers, for them a lot of business is on cash as their customers pay in cash and they in turn pay in cash to their distributors. So, the whole channel is getting a little choked. The trade part hasn't recovered but on retail side a much higher percentage of customers are paying via credit cards."
Titan has also announced it has partnered US- based fashion brand Kenneth Cole to exclusively distribute the latter's watches in India.
Kant said, "We partnered with Kenneth Cole in June but the formal launch is happening now. It is part of our strategy to bring international brands to India."
Kenneth Cole is one of the eight brands in Titan's licence brand portfolio.
 
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